Learning to Fresco…in Italy!

Babson student in Italy Amy Dwarnick is rounding off her college education by learning to fresco like Italian great Michelangelo.

Perugia, Italy, April 8, 2013— Babson student Amy Dwarnick, along with fellow students, painted quickly today to finish up the last details on her fresco before the plaster dried.
The course in Fresco, part of the Umbra Institute’s fine arts offerings, is one of the only classes in fresco in the world.

Babson student Amy Dwarnick puts the finishing touches on a fresh layer of plaster, continuing a 2,000 year-old Italian tradition of buon fresco, for their class in Fresco at the Umbra Institute in Perugia.

This semester students started by creating a first, rough layer with a mixture of sand and lime plaster, then learned from Professor Bill Pettit how to apply the smoother layers over the top. The last layer is the hardest: is has to be applied and then painted within three hours. The students also took a trip to Rome to see the amazing examples from the Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance, an inspiration for their own walls back in Perugia.

About the Umbra Institute:

The Umbra Institute is an American study abroad program located in the central Italian city of Perugia. Often called a “big university town in a small Italian city,” Perugia is the ideal setting for studying fine arts, business, and liberal arts courses. See the Institute’s website for more information about the course offerings.